Wisconsin Republicans, just weeks away from losing control of the governor and attorney general's offices, planned dramatic lame-duck votes Tuesday on a sweeping attempt to limit the powers of incoming Democrats. The move is sparking protests. (Dec. 4)
AP

Wisconsin Gov.-elect Tony Evers speaks at the Ward 4 building in Milwaukee. Evers said Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, he would consider legislation should any of the laws Republican lawmakers are considering to curb his powers become law.(Photo: Meg Jones / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

MADISON, Wis. – Action in the Wisconsin Legislature came to a standstill late Tuesday as lawmakers debated whether to diminish the powers of the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general.

Republicans spent hours huddled behind closed doors as they tried to work out differences themselves over the most controversial portions of a plan that brought more than 1,000 opponents to the state Capitol this week to protest on its steps.

The sweeping package lawmakers hoped to vote on late Tuesday or early Wednesday would also limit early voting, give the Republican-controlled Legislature control of the state's jobs agency and allow legislators to bypass the new Democratic attorney general and hire their own private attorneys to defend policies.

The effort comes as Republicans in Michigan also are using a lame-duck session before the new Democratic governor is sworn in.

To Wisconsin Democrats, the plan is a repudiation of the Nov. 6 election that felled Gov. Scott Walker and swept Democrats into state offices. To Republicans, it's the only way to ensure major changes enacted over the past eight years won't evaporate overnight.

As the state Senate began their work, Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling called the plan a "blatant overreach" and a "desperate" attempt to hold onto power.

By nightfall, the Senate had passed along party lines one piece of the package related to channeling federal money into a smaller number of road projects so that other projects could avoid having to comply with federal environmental and wage laws. Another provision slightly decreased income tax rates.

The chamber also approved more than 80 appointments by Walker, also on 18-15 party-line votes. Democrats objected that most of the appointees had not had public hearings and had not yet submitted statements of economic interest.

The lame-duck session again drew national attention to politics in Wisconsin as threats of lawsuits mounted.

Eric Holder, the first attorney general under former President Barack Obama and a potential presidential contender himself, said he believed Walker would hurt his reputation if the plan was not significantly changed and he signed it into law before leaving office.

“I think these bills, if passed and if signed by him, will be a stain on his legacy and will have a negative impact on his ability to seek office in the future," Holder said.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told reporters he wanted to make sure lawmakers have as much control of state government as Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers.

“We did have an election. Whether everyone here likes it or not, I respect the fact that Tony Evers is the governor and he’s going to be starting on Jan. 7,” Vos said at a news conference. “But he’s not the governor today, and that’s why we’re going to make sure the powers of each branch are as equal as they can be.”

Walker signaled Monday he largely supports the legislation and would be willing to sign it before he leaves office. But its passage was not guaranteed in a Senate where Republicans cannot afford more than one defection.

Vos said modest changes to the legislation were in the works but did not describe what they were. Senate Republicans wouldn't talk about what changes they were contemplating.

Walker signaled Monday he largely supports the legislation and would be willing to sign it before he leaves office. But there are a few GOP senators who aren't talking, making the legislation's fate unclear as of Tuesday evening. Republicans control the Senate 18-15 and cannot afford more than one defection.

Ahead of the floor session, the Legislature's budget committee signed off on most of the plan but discarded one controversial measure that would have moved the 2020 presidential primary from April to March at a cost of nearly $7 million to taxpayers – prompting heavy criticism from county clerks.

The action comes as Democrats and their allies warned they would sue over many of the elements of the plan, especially over a measure that would limit early voting in Wisconsin to roughly two weeks.

A similar limit was found unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2016 and Democrats have threatened to take legal action again should the plan be signed by Walker.

Vos said he was confident the early voting limit would stand because unlike the earlier one, it would allow weekend and evening voting. The restrictions on Evers' power and other parts of the lame-duck legislation will stand as well, he predicted.

“They have every right to go to the courts to ask the courts if what we have done is constitutional,” Vos said. “I believe, the advice I’ve been given is, that everything we’ve done is within the bounds of the constitution and I think it will be found that way. But of course they have the right; that’s our process – three co-equal branches.”

Drawing the most public outrage were the proposals to diminish the authority of Evers and incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul and in many cases give that power to the Legislature.

"Unfortunately, I think this extraordinary session says that the Republicans don't believe that people of this state have the right or the intelligence to elect their leaders," said Sen. LaTonya Johnson, a Milwaukee Democrat.

Walker downplayed the significance of the legislation's proposed changes and said the measures seek to keep in place the current friendly dynamic between the Republican governor and GOP-controlled Legislature.

"Much of what we did over the last eight years is work with the Legislature, not at odds with the Legislature," he told reporters Monday after a menorah lighting ceremony at the governor's mansion. "For all the talk about reining in power, it really doesn't."

Among the numerous provisions included in the legislation are ones that would give Republicans more control of the state agency overseeing job creation; curtail the governor's ability to write state rules and adjust public benefits programs; and allow lawmakers to replace the attorney general with private attorneys at taxpayer expense.

Kaul told reporters Tuesday that the measures will almost certainly end up in court, and former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle in a rare public appearance blasted the ideas as blatant "unconstitutional violations of separations of powers" that will lead to years of litigation.

Republican lawmakers are also considering passing legislation aimed at protecting insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions. The effort comes after Evers and Kaul focused heavily on the issue.

Democrats criticized a proposal Republicans circulated that would guarantee coverage for those with pre-existing conditions but that did not have annual or lifetime caps or require insurers to cover essential services.

They are also skeptical of the GOP plan because the lame-duck legislation would allow Republican lawmakers to keep alive a lawsuit over the Affordable Care Act that Evers and Kaul want to drop. Under the bill, Republicans could also gain control of litigation over redistricting, the voter ID law and other matters.